Portland-area city loses mayor and interim city manager in back-to-back resignations

North Plains, a small Oregon town near Portland, lost its mayor and interim city manager this week after they resigned on consecutive days.

Interim City Manager Gary Marks resigned Tuesday after just one week on the job, citing employee turnover among city leadership as a primary reason.

“Given the past departure of nearly every department director coupled with a lack of any meaningful administrative support, there was no way to successfully understand city processes and systems,” Marks said in a statement, according to The Oregonian. “Managing the city without the tools necessary to do the job made it impossible to meet expectations. The situation was untenable.”

North Plains, which has a population of slightly more than 3,500, typically has a leadership team of roughly 10 employees when fully staffed.

The following day, Mayor Aaron Dumbrow resigned. Dumbrow was mayor for 12 months after he replaced former Mayor Ariel Goodwin in July 2025. Goodwin held the position for just eight months before stepping down.

Three councilors stepped down from their posts between October 2025 and May 2026, including Councilor Michele McCall-Wallace, who claimed there is an “environment of distrust” within the North Plains government.

In addition to government staff turnover, Dumbrow alleged that working with city councilors, both past and present, led to his decision to resign.

“As a person of integrity, I cannot continue to lead the city based on numerous legal and council rule violations by the previous and current council,” Dumbrow wrote in a resignation letter. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve our community. I hope that we all are able to become neighbors again, but it is time for me to focus on my family and career.”

In total, four government positions have been vacated in the last two weeks. The director of library and administrative services and the assistant planner resigned the week prior. The city has a $36 million biennial budget, but has not undergone a financial audit since 2021.

City spokesperson Therese Lang told The Oregonian that despite the leadership turnover, most city services are still functional.

Regarding the future of the city, the North Plains City Council is holding a “special” meeting Friday at 12 p.m. Due to a lack of staff available to hold an in-person meeting, it will be held on Zoom. As of this reporting, the roles of mayor, interim city manager, library and administrative services director, finance director, public works director, and senior planner are all vacant. Additionally, the North Plains city recorder is out on medical leave until mid-September, according to Your Oregon News.

Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest